126 Nebraska State Horticultural Society. 



collection of forty-five vines presents three rather remarkable features. 

 About one-half of them have continuous tendrils, nearly one-fourth 

 regularly intermittent tendrils, and the remaining one-fourth have 

 partly intermittent and partly continuous tendrils on the same cane. 

 I have with me a cane showing this peculiar feature in a wonderful 

 degree, and will exhibit the peculiarity at the close of my paper. In 

 order to determine the degree of cold the seedling vines can endure, 

 two canes are grown from the ground, one is laid down upon the 

 ground and covered with earth, the other is left fully exposed upon the 

 trellis. A record of the temperature of the weather is kept during the 

 winter; also a record of the condition of the exposed canes the following 

 summer. 



The second system of plant breeding is that of "artificial fertilization 

 of the flowers." It is generally believed by our leading plant breeders 

 that this system will produce hardier and better varieties, with the 

 minimum of time and labor. Since the plant breeder, by this system, 

 has under his control the pollen grains that influence the character of 

 the embryo plant, it stands to reason he should be able to breed plants 

 yielding the kind and quality of fruit he desires. Since IS 97 our work 

 has been largely along the line of this system of plant breeding. Our 

 experience seems to teach that pistillate flowered varieties are more 

 readily and to a greater degree impressed by cross fertilization than 

 perfect flowered varieties. Accordingly we have used, mostly, pistillate 

 varieties as the mother plants. "Wyoming Red" has been used as a 

 mother plant and has yielded fruit of fine quality and of three colors- — 

 white, red and black. The clusters of these seedlings are usually small 

 to medium size, and the berries rather small. I do not think Wyoming 

 Red will anywhere near compare with Herbert as a mother plant for 

 the raising up of a class of grapes possessing large clusters, very large 

 berries, of excellent table qualities, and last but not least, ability to 

 endure cold of 25 to 30 degrees below zero. I have with me a cane of 

 a Herbert seedling that endured 27 degrees of cold last winter, fully 

 exposed on the trellis, yielded a good crop of fruit the past season; wos 

 exhibited at our State Fair. It is perfect flowered, capable of yielding 

 large crops of most excellent fruit when standing alone. Herbert seeds 

 have yielded several varieties on our grounds that are worthy of in- 

 vestigation by intending planters. To prevent infringing upon the time 

 of other and abler men, I must pass over some interesting experiments 

 I have made with seedling vines in the second generation. I pass to 

 March, 1902. During this month I secured of Professor T. V. Munson 

 of Denison, Texas, a consignment of his school of vines, consisting of 

 twenty-four varieties. His "America" vine, as most of your are aware, 

 is composed of the two species combined, Lincecumii, or Post-Oak, and 



